In times of famine, humans become ruthless. They do not hesitate to steal and sell other people’s household goods, and if given the chance, they willingly engage in human trafficking.
No matter where you go, the wealthy remain wealthy, and the poor remain destitute. If abandoning one’s humanity could earn them a sack of wheat, it was a small price to pay.
In this process, the ones who always suffered the most were the weak in the slums.
People who couldn’t work due to missing limbs, those ostracized due to diseases, and those who ended up here because they didn’t have a penny. These people, with their tragic stories, gathered in makeshift shelters that couldn’t even be called homes, waiting for death.
Such slums existed everywhere, and prosperous Guangdong, known for its salt fields and trade, was no exception.
In the slums, children who had not yet fallen ill were the most targeted. Weak and ignorant, they were easily snatched up by traffickers.
Once a child was taken, getting them back was nearly impossible, leaving parents who were already physically impaired wailing in despair, blaming themselves for bringing children into such a place.
This dire situation was changed by an outsider child who had a mute younger sibling.
One day, this outsider child, with a strange resolve, appeared in the dying village. The child quickly gathered other children with sweet promises of not going hungry, and cunningly stole fish from the market to keep his word.
Using his nimble body, he would mock and lure the rough men by the sea while his sibling stole food or hid in warehouses overnight to meet with other children outside and steal crates of salted fish.
Before starting their ‘work,’ he would clean the faces and wash the clothes of the children acting with him, cleverly preventing any potential harm from befalling the slum.
At first, the people by the coast dismissed the children’s antics as playful pranks, but they gradually felt a sense of unease. However, as time went by, the outsider child’s methods became more cunning, and the children who acted with him began to gain weight. Before they realized it, they were often taken by surprise.
Having solidified his position, the outsider child became the leader of the slum children and taught them ‘cruelty’ first.
Rumors spread that to kidnap children from the Guangdong slums, one had to be prepared to lose a couple of fingers or a part of their manhood. For those who took pride in their intact bodies, it was a terrifying prospect.
Despite being only half the size of an adult, the children were so fierce that they would bite the flesh off traffickers even if they were beaten to a pulp and had their teeth knocked out. When dozens of such children from different villages swarmed together, the traffickers could only flee in panic.
Seeing the children fight back, the adults in the slums also began to harbor bitterness, and within a year, the place became a den of demons.
It became a place where everyone, adults and children alike, was fierce and relentless, where if you provoked them once, you would be bitten dozens of times. Rather than stepping on them, people chose to turn back.
This was the result of the outsider child’s efforts.
People from outside, with a mix of awe and contempt, called the outsider child’s group the Gangseodan (㱂鼠團).
Like a pack of hungry rats, they were usually easy to catch and kill, but when filled with poison, they would gnaw on things and bite people.
It was a fitting nickname for those who roamed the night with fierce eyes.
◇
“Boss, Jangwi is missing.”
A child from the northern part of the slum came in urgently. Sa-yeong, who had been drawing plans for tonight’s looting operation in the dirt with a stick, looked up sharply.
“Missing? Was it traffickers?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been looking since morning, but I haven’t seen him. Even Mr. Jang doesn’t know where he went.”
The child who was close to Jangwi almost broke into tears as he spoke. Indeed, sudden disappearances in this village usually meant being captured and sold by traffickers.
Sa-yeong frowned deeply and poked his lips with the tip of the stick.
“What about Mr. Jang?”
“Huh, what do you mean?”
“Was he surprised when you asked about Jangwi? Or did he just say he didn’t know?”
“He, he just said he didn’t know… He was drinking, you know. When that man drinks, it’s a mess.”
“He was drinking?”
The child nodded, sniffing. Sa-yeong stood up, placing his hands on his hips and stretching his body.
“How could a man who once cut fishing nets to help out get money to buy alcohol? If traffickers didn’t come into the village, then Mr. Jang must have sold Jangwi for money.”
“What? But why would Jangwi’s father…!”
“Alcoholics would sell their own tongues.”
Sa-yeong scoffed cynically, not at all like an eight-year-old.
“First, we need to search the village for outsiders. If Jangwi is still in Guangdong, we’ll find him.”
“…What if he’s not?”
“…Then there’s nothing we can do.”
Hearing the realistic answer from the leader they trusted more than anyone, the children lowered their heads in sadness. But soon, they began to move in unison under Sa-yeong’s command.
They had painfully learned from past experiences that following Sa-yeong’s orders always brought them benefits.
The village market was bustling as always. Amidst the wet ground, the smell of the sea, and the loud hawking of merchants, a group of children ran through the crowded streets.
But the merchants, who would normally find the children’s playfulness endearing, now looked uneasy. Noticing this, Sa-yeong approached Mr. Gwak, who usually favored him (so he didn’t steal his fish), with wide eyes and asked.
“Mr. Gwak, why does everyone look so unhappy today?”
“Oh, Yeong-ah. Today, you shouldn’t be running around or causing trouble. Go home, quickly.”
People thought Sa-yeong, with his innocent eyes and clean clothes, was just a loved child from a poor family, never suspecting he came from the slums, known as a den of demons.
Sa-yeong had the skill to fully utilize his young body and cherubic face.
Mr. Gwak, who was most deceived by Sa-yeong, quickly replied, looking around as if worried the children might get hurt.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“Well…”
The hardest question from a child. ‘Why?’
No matter the adult, if this question was asked repeatedly, they would end up giving an answer. Mr. Gwak, too, after a moment of hesitation, thinking the child wouldn’t understand anyway, spoke roughly.
“Some very famous martial artists from Anhui Province have arrived. They are said to have committed not a few bad deeds. Getting involved with such dangerous people would be a disaster, so just go home and play. Got it?”
“Eh… If they’re martial artists, I want to see their swords.”
“What nonsense! If you want to see a sword, take a good look at this. Here!”
“Ugh! That’s a fish knife!”
“They’re the same thing!”
“How are they the same!”
“Anyway, don’t talk to them! Go home!”
As Sa-yeong left the shop with a smile, Mr. Gwak’s nagging followed him. Sa-yeong walked a bit more through the market and joined his companions gathered in an alley.
The smiling face he had shown earlier was now pale.
“Boss, did you find them? Are the traffickers here?”
“Are you okay?”
The children hurriedly asked Sa-yeong. After a moment of silence, he suddenly noticed a small figure hiding at the alley’s entrance.
“What? Why are you here?”
Stepping forward, Sa-hyun slipped further into the alley. It seemed he knew he was about to get scolded by his sister.
“Why is Sa-hyun here? Did you bring him?”
“No, he insisted on coming, and we couldn’t leave him.”
“Even so, you shouldn’t have brought him here!”
Six-year-old Sa-hyun was smaller and weaker than other children his age and hadn’t spoken a word for over a year after a past incident. However, with fewer ways to express himself, his silent stubbornness grew stronger.
Despite his seemingly timid nature, he shared his sister’s tough streak, clutching his clothes tightly and not letting go, his face flushed red.
Why did he have to insist on coming now? Sa-yeong sighed deeply, holding her forehead, then grabbed her brother by the scruff of his neck and brought him into the group.
“Stay right here. If you move, you’ll really get it from me. Got it?”
“….”
Sa-hyun nodded. Sa-yeong stared at him disapprovingly, then lowered her voice to tell the children what she had learned.
“It’s going to be tough. They say the Namgung family’s people are here, and it seems like Jangwi was sold to them.”
“The Namgung family… aren’t they martial artists?”
“Yes, martial artists. Very strong and really bad ones.”
If they were from Anhui Province, there was no doubt. Sa-yeong, baring her teeth, spoke fiercely, and the child who had reported Jangwi’s disappearance hesitantly asked.
“But why would they take Jangwi?”
“Well…”
In truth, Sa-yeong’s suspicion that the Namgung family was involved with Jangwi was based solely on personal experience and intuition.
As the child said, why would such people pay to capture a slum child
? Did Jangwi have some special ability? Sa-yeong, who hadn’t learned martial arts, couldn’t think of any.
Sa-yeong frowned and continued speaking.
“I don’t know yet. If they’ve come this far, they’d have come to find Haomun in Shenzhen, so Jangwi might just have been caught by chance. So…”
Sa-yeong’s hand moved towards the dagger hanging from her waist. A worn dagger obtained after smashing a thug’s head with a rock when he tried to mess with a comrade. To Sa-yeong, it was her most precious weapon.
“I’ll go alone to find Jangwi.”
Once again, she could only rely on herself.
To others, it might seem laughable, but to Sa-yeong, it was a life-or-death decision.
Martial artists were vastly different from ordinary people. They could hear the sound of a needle falling from five rooms away and cut a falling leaf in half with a single stroke.
For a child who knew no martial arts to approach their place would only result in being mistaken for a petty thief and chased away.
So, Sa-yeong chose a direct confrontation.
Finding the inn where the Namgung family’s martial artists were staying wasn’t difficult. Walking through the inn streets of a village that didn’t smell of poverty, one particularly bustling place stood out.
‘If they’re from the Namgung family, they probably rented an entire inn.’
Looking up at the signboard reading “Pungnang Inn,” Sa-yeong clenched her fist and searched for the back door. Carefully opening it and stepping inside, she saw several busy cooks.
One of the young cooks, familiar with Sa-yeong, widened his eyes in surprise.
“Yeong-ah, what brings you here?”
“Ah, uncle. I heard there are important guests here.”
Sa-yeong approached him with a bright expression.
“You seem really busy. Is there any small job I can do? My little brother is hungry…”
“Oh dear, what to do.”
Having built a good impression in the inn street, Sa-yeong often helped the busy cooks with odd jobs and received leftover food in return. Thinking it was a similar request, the cook, looking troubled, grabbed Sa-yeong’s shoulder and made eye contact with her.
